


A letter to Highgarden

by cortchuzska



Series: Of suns and roses [6]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-11
Updated: 2012-04-11
Packaged: 2017-11-03 11:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/381090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cortchuzska/pseuds/cortchuzska
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oberyn Martell and Willas Tyrell become penpals</p>
<p>Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,<br/>Old Time is still a-flying;<br/>And this same flower that smiles today,<br/>Tomorrow will be dying.</p>
<p>Robert Herrick</p>
            </blockquote>





	A letter to Highgarden

“Of course you had no intention of injuring him; if an injury has to be done, you are the sort of man who inflicts it once and for all.”

“It was an unfortunate chance.”

“Poor excuse. You should get all chances working for you, no big difference between less or more fortunate one, that's the only thing that matters.”

“Lord Tyrell should be grateful his son his still alive.”

“The Tyrells will not love us more for that.”

“We don't need their love.”

“I'm taking it you didn't want to hurt the Tyrells either, otherwise I'd have you locked in the Spear Tower. I wonder if I should now anyway, because of your recklessness. ”

“I did all I could do afterwards: my own maester cured him.”

“What you or your maester did afterwards is not the problem. You should have thought, and done nothing before.”

“I'm not you. Doing nothing and thinking.”

“Often proven the best way.”

“It was not a tournament for green boys. His father should have known better: it was foolish of him to let his heir go. ”

“Or make him go. My problem is not Mace Tyrell being the fool he is, who never thinks and acts hastily – and he who acts hastily either makes a blunder, or comes very near it - neither him being an irresponsible father. My problem is you: my own brother acting like an irresponsible fool.”

Doran drew a long breath.

“Like there was no tomorrow, nothing to care about, like you had no children. You didn't ever bother marrying Ellaria.”

That was below the belt; Doran knew how he loved his daughters, and he couldn't help snapping back. “I'm no irresponsible father. I'll never marry Ellaria – as you would allow me, a Prince of Dorne, to marry a Sand – because I want all my children to be equal. I'm not sheltering my daughters, like you do with yours, because I want them responsible for themselves. I want them to think by themselves, to be able to choose by themselves, and even to protect themselves from their own choices if they should prove wrong”.

“I'm not sheltering Arianne. As ruling Princess, and maybe more, she'll think, act and choose – and not for herself only, as you always do.” Doran paused.

“And mend mistakes. Not even her own.” He added.

“It wasn't my fault.”

“It was; and now we must turn it into use.”

“Doran, what would you have me do?”

“Write a formal apology letter to Highgarden.”

“An apology letter? All that scolding for a letter?”

“You got yourself some links at the Citadel, didn't you? You should still remember how to hold a quill.”

“It's not going to change anything, anyway.”

“It is not, I agree; still, you're going to write that letter.”

Prince Oberyn wrote.

\--o--

As expected, there was no official reply from Highgarden; but there was a personal one, from Willas Tyrell, even too thirsty to answer.

He thanked Prince Oberyn for his kindness, for saving his life, for the book he gave him – he would have been lost without it the long weeks he had to spend lying in his apartments, told him about the late roses flowering he wasn't able to see this year – but he never noticed before their smell could be so sweet: everything a gift to enjoy, because it faded away – about his favourite hawk, and Lady Olenna's witty remarks...

Life was so achingly beautiful, Oberyn thought.

He wrote back. In a while, there were regular flights of unofficial ravens between the two Houses: no more lengthy letters, thanks to the Seven, or rather to the black wings who could carry just brief notes, mostly about books, hounds, falcons and horses; almost nothing about the Tyrells. Oberyn had vaguely hoped to get some news even about King's Landing court, but Willas apparently liked his animals better than people. Maybe didn't want him to know too much: he was a Tyrell, after all.

Nonetheless, he grew to enjoy young Willas's letters: his eyes proved keen, his observation sharp, and a sound judgement matched them. With his leg, he could do little more than reading; he was willing to know, and asked for his advice. Highgarden library was as large as flashy, and in Oberyn's opinion utterly useless; and he was glad to grant him his expert tuition, and from time to time a carefully chosen book. A grey hound from Highgarden followed, and then a hawk from Sunspear.

Ravens kept flying, and sometimes a rose marked or sun emblazoned bundle would cross the Prince's Pass.

 


End file.
